Faster: How a Jewish Driver, an American Heiress, and a Legendary Car Beat Hitler's Best
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-06-15 07:51:11
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Neal Bascomb
- ISBN：0358508126
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Summary
“Fresh， and told in vivid detail 。 。 。 [Bascomb] describes the twists and turns of the 1930s Grand Prix races as if he’d driven the courses himself。”—New York Times Book Review
“Exciting， fast-moving 。 。 。 [Bascomb] moves with the aplomb of an F1 driver who starts in the middle of the pack and works his way up， car by car， to take the lead。”—Wall Street Journal
As Nazi Germany launched its campaign of racial terror and pushed the world toward war， three unlikely heroes—a driver banned from the best European teams because of his Jewish heritage， the owner of a faltering automaker company， and the adventurous daughter of an American multi-millionaire—banded together to challenge Hitler’s dominance at the Grand Prix， the apex of motorsport。 Bringing to life this glamorous era and the sport that defined it， Faster chronicles one of the most inspiring， death-defying upsets of all time: a symbolic blow against the Nazis during history’s darkest hour。
“Exciting， fast-moving 。 。 。 [Bascomb] moves with the aplomb of an F1 driver who starts in the middle of the pack and works his way up， car by car， to take the lead。”—Wall Street Journal
As Nazi Germany launched its campaign of racial terror and pushed the world toward war， three unlikely heroes—a driver banned from the best European teams because of his Jewish heritage， the owner of a faltering automaker company， and the adventurous daughter of an American multi-millionaire—banded together to challenge Hitler’s dominance at the Grand Prix， the apex of motorsport。 Bringing to life this glamorous era and the sport that defined it， Faster chronicles one of the most inspiring， death-defying upsets of all time: a symbolic blow against the Nazis during history’s darkest hour。
Reviews
Ann
，
Like Boys in the Boat or Seabiscut， but with early Formula One history
Katie
，
This is not what I would normally have picked up， but I thoroughly enjoyed it。 Both the writing and the research are fantastic。 This is a great book for anybody interested in racing， history， or who wants to read a nonfiction book but prefers a more story focused style。
Britton
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This is absolutely one of the best books I have ever read。 The story of René Dreyfus， Lucy Schell， and the automaker Delahaye creates an amazing underdog story。
Olivia Smith
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This is one of my favorite books of all time。 So well written， such engaging characters with intertwined stories， made all the better by historical reality。 Will definitely be reading many times over。 Even without knowing much about racing， it draws you in and has a powerful ending。
Glenn
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Any book by this author will always get my attention。 They are well researched and he includes little nuggets of random information that make the people unique and engaging。 A book about cars would never really grab my attention。 But this one did！
Randall Russell
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Even though this is a relatively short book （273 pages）， I struggled to get through it。 This book just did NOT grab my attention， despite the fact that it combines two subjects that I love dearly - history and automobile racing， and specifically Formula 1。 Just to calibrate you， I started reading Hot Rod magazine when I was 10 years old， and in the intervening 50+ years I've continued to read pretty much anything I can get my hands on having to do with automobile racing。 I can tell you， just by Even though this is a relatively short book （273 pages）， I struggled to get through it。 This book just did NOT grab my attention， despite the fact that it combines two subjects that I love dearly - history and automobile racing， and specifically Formula 1。 Just to calibrate you， I started reading Hot Rod magazine when I was 10 years old， and in the intervening 50+ years I've continued to read pretty much anything I can get my hands on having to do with automobile racing。 I can tell you， just by the vocabulary of this book， and the descriptions of some of the racing scenes and other details， that I think the author knows absolutely nothing about this period of Formula 1 racing， and even racing in general， and that's probably why the story never comes alive （at least for me）。 Maybe if you have very little knowledge about racing， you would enjoy this book， but for me， it was a real dud。 。。。more
Kevin
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8/10。 Racing AND sticking it to Hitler。 What a combo。
Dennis Peglow
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This was a great read。 Important and heroic motorsports history。。。 all new to me。🏁
J。K。 Kelly
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As a motorsports fan and hater of Hitler and all he stood for， I really enjoyed Faster。 Great stuff。
Jessica
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Finally， all those Top Gear episodes I've watched paid off！ But seriously， I enjoyed this book and I think part of it had to do with my familiarity with cars and racing thanks to Top Gear， and part of it had to do with my knowledge of French history （thank you， French Studies BA）。 I was familiar with the Dreyfus Affair， so it was interesting to learn about another famous French Dreyfus， Rene， who "was to the French people what Babe Ruth was to the Americans。" And I'm a little annoyed I had never Finally， all those Top Gear episodes I've watched paid off！ But seriously， I enjoyed this book and I think part of it had to do with my familiarity with cars and racing thanks to Top Gear， and part of it had to do with my knowledge of French history （thank you， French Studies BA）。 I was familiar with the Dreyfus Affair， so it was interesting to learn about another famous French Dreyfus， Rene， who "was to the French people what Babe Ruth was to the Americans。" And I'm a little annoyed I had never heard of Lucy Schell， the American multi-millionaire rally car driver who was the "first and only woman to lead a Grand Prix racing team。" I also think having read Boys in the Boat helped me quickly understand the setting and the greater purpose of what Germany and Hitler were trying to accomplish in the auto racing scene in the 1930s。 I am always a sucker for an underdog story， and this was a good one。 Hope we get to see it on the silver screen someday！ 。。。more
Evan
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Bascomb does an incredible job weaving the lives and journeys of all the important drivers with their teams and managers down to an important moment at the 1938 Pau Grand Prix。 Bascomb also takes importance to put into the context the looming threat of WWII at the time and presents the story with a beautiful narrative that had me hooked from the beginning。
Jacklyn Maher
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Fast cars， death defying feats， terrifying risks with an undercurrent of political and global implications。 This book makes you see the races and the racers with well placed images and maps to make sure the reader stays firmly entrenched in the era that is being revived。 Great for fans of history， racing and thrill seeker books。
David Ryan
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Far too many races （50 or so） before the main event， the Pau Grand Prix of 1938。 Even so， a fascinating story about the French auto maker， Delahaye， and its model 137 race car （now featured in the collection of the Mullin Museum in Oxnard， CA）。
Jeremy Hetzel
，
I loved "The Boys in the Boat"， so was super excited to listen to this audio book。 I also really loved the movie "Ford vs。 Ferrari"， so was extra excited。All in all， a good book， but didn't grab me like I hoped。 Had a hard time engaging at the beginning， possibly because I'm a visual learner and I wasn't able to visualize all the French and European locations and names。 Made it hard to discern at times。 I did really enjoy a thorough history and appreciation of racing history。 So many forgotten t I loved "The Boys in the Boat"， so was super excited to listen to this audio book。 I also really loved the movie "Ford vs。 Ferrari"， so was extra excited。All in all， a good book， but didn't grab me like I hoped。 Had a hard time engaging at the beginning， possibly because I'm a visual learner and I wasn't able to visualize all the French and European locations and names。 Made it hard to discern at times。 I did really enjoy a thorough history and appreciation of racing history。 So many forgotten things。 Glad I listened to it。 。。。more
PottWab Regional Library
，
A
Emg
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Lively， good personality development。 Even though I know little about cars and even less about racing， I didn't feel lost or overwhelmed by jargon or technicalities。 Lively， good personality development。 Even though I know little about cars and even less about racing， I didn't feel lost or overwhelmed by jargon or technicalities。 。。。more
Vicky Finney
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A great mix between informative and narrative non fiction。 I greatly enjoyed the detailed race chapters （which were neither too detailed or too short）， and the approachable car desriptions that never left me feeling dumb。
David
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TL;DR。 I actually read about half the book。 This would have been a great read at 100 pages， but for anyone who's not a 1930s auto racing enthusiast， it's just too long and too much detail。 TL;DR。 I actually read about half the book。 This would have been a great read at 100 pages， but for anyone who's not a 1930s auto racing enthusiast， it's just too long and too much detail。 。。。more
Eli Pollack
，
The book is very well researched， with 40 pages of notes at the end。 But the come on "How a Jewish Driver， an American Heiress and a Legendary Car Beat Hitler's Best" I found true but less than completely true。 In the interests of not spoiling the ending I will stop there。 This， in my opinion， is not a definitive David vs Goliath sports story as for example The Boys in the Boat because of the race that is the Book's apex。What the book does deliver is a great history of early auto racing， the pla The book is very well researched， with 40 pages of notes at the end。 But the come on "How a Jewish Driver， an American Heiress and a Legendary Car Beat Hitler's Best" I found true but less than completely true。 In the interests of not spoiling the ending I will stop there。 This， in my opinion， is not a definitive David vs Goliath sports story as for example The Boys in the Boat because of the race that is the Book's apex。What the book does deliver is a great history of early auto racing， the players， the different kinds of races and the dangers of being the point person in any new endeavor。 On that basis， more as a history book than a sports competition， it delivers。I found this somewhat slower reading than I thought it would be but I'm getting older， so your mileage may vary。 。。。more
Dan
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Most interesting！
Thais Gherardi
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Good book， a nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon。
Camille
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Fairly entertaining， dragged a bit in the middle。 Interesting bit of history and some fascinating characters， but I’m just not into cars enough to love it。
Say
，
Fascinating yet sad。 Exciting yet sad。 That so much has been gained and lost over and over again because of greed， prejudice and hatred。
Joy Davenport
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Loved the details on this book！ Excellent writing。 I finished it， wanting more， to know what happened next。 But that was never the intended story。
Jeff
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Fun book about racing and ever-war-poised Germany in the first half of the 20th century。 It's like an antique version of the Netflix show "Formula 1: Drive to Survive。" Fun book about racing and ever-war-poised Germany in the first half of the 20th century。 It's like an antique version of the Netflix show "Formula 1: Drive to Survive。" 。。。more
Barbara
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Although I'm not necessarily a fan of auto racing， I'd read and enjoyed three of this author's previous books [The Grand Escape， Sabotage， and The Nazi Hunters] so I figured it would be safe to give this one a try。 I was not disappointed at all。 In this well-written narrative nonfiction， author Neal Bascomb sets the scene for a showdown in 1938 between the best driver and car the Germans could provide and a French driver supported by a wealthy American woman who loved racing。 In his Delahaye 145 Although I'm not necessarily a fan of auto racing， I'd read and enjoyed three of this author's previous books [The Grand Escape， Sabotage， and The Nazi Hunters] so I figured it would be safe to give this one a try。 I was not disappointed at all。 In this well-written narrative nonfiction， author Neal Bascomb sets the scene for a showdown in 1938 between the best driver and car the Germans could provide and a French driver supported by a wealthy American woman who loved racing。 In his Delahaye 145 Rene Dreyfus outraced Rudi Caracciola in his Silver Arrow in the Pau Grand Prix。 While the book concludes with a detailed description of the race that will set hearts pounding wildly as the two cars and the others they left behind weave in and out of traffic and around the race course， almost neck and neck at points， the author spends considerable time introducing both racers as well as providing historical context for this story and reminding readers of Adolph Hitler's growing control of the German government。 It was Hitler who poured funds into efforts to show his nation's supremacy in all things， including race cars。 This awareness adds suspense to the story as does the fact that Dreyfus was Jewish。 The various personalities introduced here are fascinating in their own right， and the author gives such vivid descriptions of the various races that readers will feel as though they are zipping along those tracks or mountainsides， barely holding onto their seats or hats。 It's also clear， given what lies ahead when the Nazis move into their neighboring countries just what lies ahead for Europe， making this small victory on the track even more significant as it belies Hitler's claims of German supremacy in all matters。 The endnotes and photographs are helpful for those interested in learning more or in immersing themselves in that time period。 The book itself might even turn some readers into race car fans or at the very least leave them with an appreciation of the drivers and just how challenging this activity actually was/is。 。。。more
Phil Bayly
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Interesting and well researched。 A true story of the decade leading up to World War II in Europe。 The globe's greatest race drivers and teams of their era speed toward the finish line and war with Germany。 Their goals on the track were simple。 Off the track， it was more complicated and political。 It's a good telling of the time。 And if you're a motor-head， as I am， this is a story you can't resist。 Interesting and well researched。 A true story of the decade leading up to World War II in Europe。 The globe's greatest race drivers and teams of their era speed toward the finish line and war with Germany。 Their goals on the track were simple。 Off the track， it was more complicated and political。 It's a good telling of the time。 And if you're a motor-head， as I am， this is a story you can't resist。 。。。more
Sean Kottke
，
I'm not big on racing stories， but I admire what is going on with this project， resurrecting a piece of history that the Nazis tried to erase。 I'm not big on racing stories， but I admire what is going on with this project， resurrecting a piece of history that the Nazis tried to erase。 。。。more
Cynthia Karl
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I have zero interest in car racing but this is a good read although there were some passages that for a non-car enthusiast became tedious。 Highly recommend it for anyone that is a car or race car enthusiast。
Cindie
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